Colorado Small Estate Affidavit
In Colorado a successor can use a small estate affidavit to collect a decedent's personal property when the estate is worth $88,000 or less for a death in 2026, once ten days have passed, without full probate. Attorney review available.
Introduction
A small estate affidavit is a short, notarized declaration by which someone entitled to inherit gathers a late relative's financial assets, for instance a savings balance, wages still owed, or brokerage holdings, and skips the drawn-out, court-supervised probate that bigger estates face. Colorado runs this under Colorado Revised Statutes Section 15-12-1201 and ties eligibility to the decedent's year of death. A qualifying successor may act once at least ten days have passed since the death, provided the combined fair market value of everything the decedent owned that would pass by will or intestacy, wherever it is located and after liens and encumbrances come off, stays at or below the year-of-death ceiling. For a 2026 death that ceiling sits at $88,000; for a 2025 death it was $86,000, and it climbs with inflation each year. The declaration works for financial and other movable assets only. It carries no power to move real estate, and because Colorado offers no companion real-property affidavit, any estate holding land or a home must be probated. Colorado prints the declaration as Form JDF 999, with a guide in JDF 998, and charges no court fee since nothing is filed with a judge. DocDraft assembles your Colorado declaration from the facts you enter, with attorney review offered as an option before you sign.
Key Things to Know
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A small estate affidavit is a short, notarized declaration that lets someone entitled to inherit gather a late relative's financial and movable assets, such as a savings balance, wages owed, or brokerage holdings, and bypass the court-supervised probate that bigger Colorado estates face.
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The affidavit is available only when the total fair market value of all property subject to disposition by will or intestate succession, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the year-of-death limit, which is $88,000 for a death in 2026 (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 15-12-1201; Form JDF 999).
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The limit is keyed to the decedent's year of death and adjusted each year for inflation; it was $86,000 for a death in 2025.
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It may not be used until at least ten days have elapsed since the date of death (Form JDF 999, Colorado Revised Statutes Section 15-12-1201).
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The affidavit is valid for personal property only and is not valid for the transfer of real estate; an estate that includes real property must go through probate.
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The successor presents the notarized affidavit directly to the party holding the asset, such as a bank, and it is not filed with the court, so there is no court filing fee.
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Colorado publishes the affidavit as Form JDF 999 with instructions in JDF 998, and the instructions direct the affiant to attach a copy of the death certificate when presenting it, since some holders require a certified copy.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Small Estate Affidavit in Colorado, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Small Estate Affidavit guide walks through them.
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Once your Small Estate Affidavit is ready, you can check whether it needs to be notarized in Colorado in about a minute, and notarize it online through DocDraft if it does.
Colorado Requirements for Small Estate Affidavit
In Colorado a small estate affidavit may not be used until at least ten days have elapsed since the date of the decedent's death (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 15-12-1201; Form JDF 999). This is a shorter wait than many states.
The affidavit is available only when the total fair market value of all property subject to disposition by will or intestate succession, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the year-of-death limit (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 15-12-1201; Form JDF 999). That limit is $88,000 for a death in 2026 and was $86,000 for a death in 2025; it is adjusted each year for inflation.
The affidavit is valid for personal property only and is not valid for the transfer of real estate (Form JDF 999). Colorado has no separate small estate affidavit for real property, so an estate that includes real property must go through probate administration.
The affidavit states that no application or petition for the appointment of a personal representative is pending, and that none has been granted, in any jurisdiction (Form JDF 999; Colorado Revised Statutes Section 15-12-1201). If probate has been opened, the affidavit is not available.
The affidavit is presented directly to the party that owes a debt to the decedent or holds the decedent's personal property, such as a bank, and is not filed with the court, so there is no court filing fee (Form JDF 998). A motor vehicle title uses the Division of Motor Vehicles form DR 2712 instead.
The affiant must be a successor of the decedent, or a person acting on behalf of one or more successors, and must be 18 or older (Form JDF 999). The affidavit is signed before a notary public.
Colorado publishes the affidavit as Form JDF 999, with instructions in JDF 998. Form JDF 999 has no death-certificate attachment line, but the instructions direct the affiant to attach a copy of the death certificate when presenting it, and note that some holders require a certified copy.
A person who receives property under the affidavit is answerable and accountable to any later-appointed personal representative or anyone with a superior right to the estate (Form JDF 999). The affidavit is signed before a notary, so do not sign if the facts or values are uncertain.
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It is a short, notarized declaration that lets someone entitled to inherit gather a late relative's financial and movable assets, such as a savings balance, wages owed, or brokerage holdings, without opening probate. Under Colorado Revised Statutes Section 15-12-1201 the successor certifies that at least ten days have passed since the death and that the estate sits at or below the year-of-death ceiling, then hands the declaration to whoever holds the asset. For a modest Colorado estate it is typically the quickest and cheapest route.
Probate is a judge-supervised matter that installs a personal representative to collect assets, clear debts, and pass on the balance, and in Colorado it stretches across months. The Section 15-12-1201 declaration strips that layer away: the successor signs a notarized declaration and gathers the movable assets directly, with nobody court-appointed and nothing filed. It is open only when the estate stays at or below the year-of-death ceiling, $88,000 for a 2026 death, and no personal representative has been named.
The total fair market value of all property owned by the decedent and subject to disposition by will or intestate succession, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, must not exceed the year-of-death limit (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 15-12-1201; Form JDF 999). That limit is $88,000 for a death in 2026 and was $86,000 for a death in 2025. The figure is keyed to the year of death, not the year of filing, and is adjusted each year for inflation.
At least ten days must have elapsed since the date of the decedent's death before the affidavit may be used (Form JDF 999; Colorado Revised Statutes Section 15-12-1201). This is a shorter wait than many states. The affidavit states that at least ten days have passed. If fewer than ten days have passed, the party holding the asset can decline to release it, so the ten-day period is a firm requirement in Colorado.
No. The Colorado affidavit, Form JDF 999 under Colorado Revised Statutes Section 15-12-1201, is valid for personal property only and states that it is not valid for the transfer of real estate. Colorado has no separate small estate affidavit for real property, so an estate that includes real property must go through probate administration. The only real-estate use of the affidavit is recording it with a death certificate to release a lien under Section 15-12-1201(3.5), which does not transfer title.
The affidavit is presented directly to any person or entity that owes a debt to the decedent or holds the decedent's personal property, such as a bank, and it is not filed with the court (Form JDF 998; Colorado Revised Statutes Section 15-12-1201). Because it is not filed, there is no court filing fee. For a motor vehicle title, the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles requires its own form DR 2712 instead of JDF 999.
The affiant must be a successor of the decedent, or a person acting on behalf of one or more successors, and must be 18 or older (Form JDF 999). The affidavit is signed before a notary public. Form JDF 999 itself has no death-certificate attachment line, but the JDF 998 instructions direct the affiant to attach a copy of the death certificate when presenting the affidavit, and note that some holders require a certified copy.
A person who receives property under a Colorado affidavit is answerable and accountable to any later-appointed personal representative of the estate or anyone with a superior right to it (Form JDF 999). The affidavit is signed before a notary, so a false statement about the estate value, the ten-day period, or the successor's right carries legal consequences. An affidavit should never be signed in Colorado if the facts or the values are uncertain.